The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1887-11-25
TALMAGE'S SERMON.
a Practical Discourse on Parental
Duty and Responsibility.
The Dangerous Results OF Extreme In
diligence and Unwise Severity Con-
trasted-Divine Hints which Pa
rents Should Take Note OF.

T. De Witt Talmage at the Brooklyn
Tabernacle was Parental Blunders."
His text was:
He fell from OF the seat backward by the side
| of the gate, and his neck brake, and he died: !:
for he was an old man, and heavy.-L Samuel
w. 18
DR.. Talmage said: This is the end Of
long story of parental neglect Judge Eli
was a good man, but he let his two boys,
Hophni and Phinehas, do as they pleased,
and through overindulg gence they went to
ruin. The blind old Judge, ninety-eight
years of age, is seated at the gate waiting
for the news of an important battle in
which his two sons were at the front. An
| express is coming with tidings from the
battle. This blind nonagenarian puts his
hand behind his ear and listens, and
cries: s'What meaneth the noise of this
tumult?" An excited messenger, all out
of breath with the speed, said to him:
sour army is defeated. The sacred chest,
called the Ark is captured, and your sons
are dead on the field" No wonder, the
father tainted and expired. The domes-
tic tragedy in which these two sons were
the tragedians had finished its fifth and
last act.
He fell from of the seat backward by the
side az the gate, and his neck brake ana he
died: for he was an old man and heavy.
Eli had made an awful mistake in re-
gard to his children. The Bible distinctly
says:
His sons made themselves vile and he re-
strained them not
oh, the ten thousand mistakes in rearing
children, mistakes of parents, mistakes of
teachers in day school and Sabbath
classes, mistakes which we all make. VIII
it not be useful to consider themY
This country is going to be conquered
by great Amy. compared with which
that Of BaldH l. and Xerxes aud Alex
ander and Grant and Lee, all put together,
were in numbers insignifcant They will
capture all the pulpits, store houses, fac
tories and halls of legislation all our
shipping, all our wealth, and all our
honors. They will take possession Of all
authority, from the United States prest-
dency down to the humblest constabulary
of everything between the Atlantic and
Pacific oceans. They are on the march
now and they halt neither day nor night.
They will soon be here, and all the present
active population of this country must
surrender and give way. | refer to the
great army OF children. Whether they
shall take possession of every thing for
good or for bad depends upon the style
Of preparation through which they
pass ON their way from cradle to
throne. Cicero acknowledged he kept in
his desk collection Of prefaces for books,
which prefaces he could at any time at
tach to any thing he wanted to publish
for himself or others; AID all parents and
teachers have all prepared the preface OF
every young life under their charge, and
not only the preface, but the appendix,
whether the volume be a poem or farce.
Families, and schools, and legislatures
are in our day busily engaged In discuss
ing what is the best mode of educating
children. Before this question almost
every other dwindles into insignihcance,
while dependent upon its proper solution
is the welfare Of government and ages
eternal. MacaueY tells of the war which
Frederick III. made against Queen Maria
Theresa. And one day she appeared be-
fore the august Diet wearing mourning
for her father, and held up in her arms
before them her child, the Archduke.
This so wrought upon the officers and
deputies OF the people that with half
drawn swords they broke forth in the war
cry:
Let US die for our Queen, Maria Theresai
So. this morning, realizing that the boy
of to-day is to be the ruler Of the future,
the popular sovereign, / hold him before
the American people to arouse their en-
thusiasm in his behalf, and TO evoke their
oath for his defense, bis educationI and
his sublime destiny.
propose in this discourse to set forth
what consider to be some Of the errors
prevalent in tho training Of children.
First, I remark that many err in too
great severity or too great leniency OF
family government. Between parental
tyranny and runous laxity of dis
cipline there is a medium. Sometimes the
father errs on one side and the mother
the other side. Good family government
IS a!l-important Anarchy and misrule
in the domestic circle is tho foreruuuer Of
anarchy and misrue in the State. What
a repulsive spectacle IS n home without
order or discipline; disobedience, and inn
pudence, and anger, and falsehOod lifting
their horfid front in the place which
should be consecrated to all shat is holy,
and peaceful, and beautiful. In the at
tempt to avoid al this, aud bring tho
children under proper laws and regula-
tions, parents have sometimes carried
themselves with great vigor. John How
ars' who was merciful to the prisons and
lazarettos, was merciless in the treatment
Of his children.
In some families all the discipline is
concentred upon enc child's head. II any
thing is done wrong the supposition is that
George did It. He broke the latch He
left open the gate. lie hacked the ban
nisters. He whitfield sticks on the car
pets. And George shall be the scapegoat
Tor all domestic Observation-Disclosures and
culinary department in comes the mother
aud SAYS, auarily: "W here q 9eorgeW
If business matters are perplexIng at the
store. ia comes the father at night and
says angrilv, 'fEhere IS GeorRegv In
many household there IT, such one
singled out f0s suspicion and castigation
All the sweet flowers uf his soul blasted
under this perpetual northeast storm. de
curses the day ID which he was born.
g. - ~.s..1r..s -.
tie and camels. with gentle Mary 20 watch
the little innocent, than the most extrava-
giant nursery over which Code star of
peace never stood. The trepper extiu-
guIshes the flames on the prairie By fight
ing fire with nre. but you can not, with
the fire of your own disposition, put out
Gre FIRE Of a chid's disposition.
Yet We MAJ rush to the other extreme,
aud rule children by too great leniency.
The surgeon ie not uukind because, not
pifhstanding the resistance of his pa
tient he goes straight on with firm hand
and unfalteriuH heart - take or the gam
creme Nor 3 tbs parent Tess sUecti9nate
and faithful hecanse. matWifhsta landing al
viaIam4 ronlous frances ou ths part IF the
chHa -, = al The drzscst alsciHl ine- ad-
wamce8 b. tEe caffipE oa 81 fhe eva IN
cllaafEous. The Bible says:
thaatsn thv san mhile faefe Is hope ana les
not thr so8i snsre far BIS crying
Chndssh rage nuch ecksI viii. after
aahEa. become q hafrleane. GhilAash
rsekaieaca wlli grow up into mtsantaropy.
sshadah rekeil5an wals develop snt0 the
laa .sasneas of riot aad edition. IL vOa
seouid fain taa ehft5. dance 90 als every
eafsgiea and sfnT sam With confepti ipnerw.
Before sou asls anare 81 q shat boy q six
wears saIis aasiaaa tie street 8 asear lu
his asaath and fe4iy oa nHY eefHff @iiA
fsEs ss.aaslss IS compare l.Hse iefe afEaln-
saenta The Nhfefst WAC nfEamH 6hN ehila
~ ssres Us afthaaf eVes hasins learned
t4sas afsaE fHIu ~ ate4 sara ard subngis